Russellville American Legion loses openerRussellville’s American Legion baseball team opened the 2015 summer season with a 10-9 loss to Morrilton at Tech Field on Tuesday. Russellville took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Jordan Duvall singled, Rance Ellis drew a walk and Jacob Boles singled to load the bases. Peyton Frost drew a walk and scored Duvall. Morrilton came back with three runs in the top of the third. Kannon Bradley singled, got to second on a passed...

Homeschool senior gets NCAA Division I scholarshipLydia Mitchell, a homeschool senior, signed a NCAA Division I letter of intent to play softball with the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff on April 17. Mitchell will play catcher for the Golden Lions and will major in criminal justice in the fall. As a homeschooler, her road to a NCAA Division I college hasn’t been typical. Mitchell said it took a lot of reaching out by her and her parents to get noticed. “My parents mostly,” she said. “They o...

3 Dardanelle coaches named All-StarsDARDANELLE — There will be plenty of Sand Lizards representation at the 2015 All-Star games. Dardanelle’s Bryan Hardaway is the head coach of the West soccer team, while Lyndsey Hill is an assistant for softball and Josh Price is an assistant football coach. “It’s a big honor,” Hardaway said. “To be honest with you, I think that shows that Dardanelle really knows how to put staffs together. We just have good sports all around. It shows how imp...

Sand Lizards rebuild during spring footballDARDANELLE — How do you replace one of the most dominant Dardanelle Sand Lizards football teams in school history? The answer, Dardanelle head coach Josh Price said, is that you can’t. “We will be different. We obviously won’t have a 250 pound quarterback,” Price said, referencing graduated senior Kristian Thompson. “We also won’t have anyone that can do what Park Witt did on the defense, and we’d be stupid to ask any of those kids to try.” In...

Throwback Thursday (May 28, 2015)THE COURIER / File Reprinted from a 1976 edition of The Courier-Democrat without alteration. STANDOUT PERFORMANCE was registered in Saturday’s Dover-Russellville basketball game by the Pirates’ Bill Elliot (24). He demonstrates his jumping ability on this play by soaring for two points. Russellville players are, from left: Dwight Ruffin, Mark Gilbert, Kelly Davis and Jeff Van Es. The other Dover player is Gary Churchill. Elliot, benched in the...

Clarksville to hold Red-White scrimmage todayCLARKSVILLE — Panthers head coach Eli Cranor said he is excited to show the community what he’s seen during Clarksville’s 2015 spring practices. The Panthers will hold their annual Red-White scrimmage at 7:30 p.m. today at Metheny Field. “I hope they [fans] see improvement,” Cranor said. “I hope they see a group of guys that are giving effort on every play. That’s guys that are blocking down the field, quarterbacks and running backs carrying o...

Arkansas' Lopez finishes second in NCAA golf tournamentFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Gabriela Lopez of Arkansas finished as the national runnerup in this year's NCAA women's golf tournament in Bradenton, Florida. Lopez on Monday shot a six-under-par 66 on Monday to finish with a four-round total of 286. She tied Duke's Leona Maguire one stroke behind Alabama's Emma Talley. The Razorbacks finished the stroke play portion of the tournament in ninth place. The top eight teams advance to match play. Arkan...

Post 20 baseball begins ThursdayRussellville Cyclones volunteer baseball coach Zach Hettinga said he was excited for the opportunity to coach the Russellville American Legion Post 20 Patriots this summer. The team, which is comprised of players from Russellville and the surrounding areas, will begin their season on Thursday against Maumelle. “I was real excited when they approached me,” Hettinga said. “I played American Legion when I was a kid. I just wanted kids and parents...

Goodbye, GoodmanTHE COURIER / Travis Simpson The Russellville School District (RSD) said goodbye to former Cyclones head track coach and assistant football coach Charlie Goodman with a celebration on Tuesday in the Commons Area of Russellville High School. Goodman’s son, Ben Goodman, will replace Charlie as head track coach. A film showing photos from Charlie’s 41 years with RSD was put together and shown by the Russellville Junior High School EAST Lab.

The win streak continuesStrictly speaking, there shouldn’t be any dumping of water coolers over coaches’ heads after a win in the state tournament. Yet, here we are. After wrestling Russellville head soccer coach Jared Fuller to the ground, someone said: “Gatorade!” “Gatorade,” the team agreed, despite Fuller’s protests to use water instead, because Gatorade was too sticky. Later, back in the media box, a frustrated police officer explained he had two jobs: Make sure...

Cyclones win back-to-back state championshipsFAYETTEVILLE — Russellville Cyclones head coach Jared Fuller said his third Class 6A state championship in four years was his favorite for one reason: It’s the one he’s currently experiencing. Russellville defeated the Siloam Springs Panthers 2-1 on Saturday for the 6A title at Razorback Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas. “Each win is different,” Fuller said. “I’m in this moment now, though, so this one is my favorite.” The Cyc...

Little Johns fall in 4A title matchFAYETTEVILLE — The Danville Little Johns fell on the grass in dispair after their 2-1 loss to the Class 4A State championship on Friday to the Central Arkansas Christian (CAC) Mustangs. It was over — and not in the way the Little Johns had hoped. CAC scored its first goal in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead at halftime. The Mustangs struck again with 19:22 left in the game. Danville’s Irvin Rodriguez answered with 13:45 left with a header into t...

Cyclones ready for 6A title matchThe Russellville Cyclones have danced this dance before. Actually, they've danced it it several times. When Russellville travels to Fayetteville on Saturday for the Class 6A State soccer final, it'll be for a chance to win back-to-back state championships, and their third appearance in four years. The Cyclones won titles in 2012 and 2014. Russellville will leave at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday from Russellville High School. Fans and friends are encou...

Local coaches weigh in on NLF rule changeThe NFL approved a proposal to change the way extra points worked in professional football on Tuesday. The changes may seem small at first glance, but could change the game in unforeseen ways. In a nutshell, PATs will be kicked from the 15-yard line rather than the 2-yard line. The 2-point conversion will still be snapped from the 2-yard line, but a further added twist allows the defense to ruturn turnovers, blocked or botched kicks for two po...

Throwback Thursday (May 21, 2015)THE COURIER / File Reprinted without alteration from a 1963 edition of The Courier-Democrat. RUGGED DRILL . . . Russellville High School backfield canidates run agauntlet of “defenders” trying to knock them out-of-bounds in a drill designed to develope balance and stamina. The RHS Cyclones are preparing for their season opener on Sept. 6 against Springdale.

RHS hires White to coach Lady CyclonesThe Russellville School Board filled a vacant position during Tuesday's regular meeting. Sherry White was hired to coach the Lady Cyclones basketball team. White has been the head basketball coach for the Fort Smith Southside Lady Rebels since 2004. The Lady Rebels finished as Class 7A Runners-up in 2013. White coached the Harrison Lady Goblins between 1999-2004, where she led the team to four Class 4A state championships. White, who is a four...

Long accepts position at OzarkDays after the Russellville Cyclones were defeated in the semifinals of the Class 6A State Tournament, the team will have to struggle with another loss. Russellville head coach Matt Long will take a job as head coach of the Ozark Hillbillies and will resign all coaching responsibilities at Russellville by the end of the school year. "This decision has everything to do with Ozark," Long explained. "Ozark is a place that I feel like is 100 perce...

Saints release vet kicker, sign HockerNEW ORLEANS, La. — Former Russellville Cyclones and Arkansas Razorbacks kicker Zach Hocker signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday after attending a mini-camp over the weekend. Hocker said as he was getting on the bus to return home, their scout called him to meet with Saints head coach Sean Payton. "He said I did a good job at the camp, and they wanted to sign me. I signed the same day," Hocker said. Hocker's NFL career has ju...

Little Johns to play for 4A titleDANVILLE — Little Johns head soccer coach Matt Goode knew early on he had stepped into something special when he took over the Danville soccer program prior to the 2015 season. He was right. Danville (15-1-1) will play the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs at noon on Friday for the Class 4A state championship. The Little Johns only loss came to the Dardanelle Sand Lizards, and the tie to the Russellville junior varsity. "This is my first yea...